Over 250 people test negative for ‘brain-eating’ amoeba after possible exposure at Tiberias water park

More than 250 people who visited Gai Beach water park in Tiberias have gone to hospitals for medical evaluation for Naegleria fowleri, the “brain-eating” amoeba, the Health Ministry announces.

They all tested negative for the disease.

The directive comes after an otherwise healthy 10-year-old child hospitalized at Ziv Medical Center in Safed suffering from encephalitis was in critical condition, a hospital spokesperson said yesterday.

The boy contracted the disease at the water park.

This is the same location where a 25-year-old man contracted the Naegleria fowleri disease and died early this month.

The Health Ministry ordered the park closed on Wednesday.

The amoeba, known as Naegleria fowleri, lives in soil and warm freshwater, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It is commonly called the “brain-eating amoeba” due to the brain infection it can cause if water containing the amoeba goes up the nose, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

While Naegleria fowleri thrives in warm water, most people who swim in water sources containing the amoeba do not come into contact with it.

On the Ministry’s website are detailed guidelines for properly maintaining water facilities.

The mortality rate from encephalitis, an infection of the brain, caused by the amoeba is extremely high, and while infection is extremely rare, it is often fatal.

These are the only three recorded cases in Israel. Only some 400 cases have ever been diagnosed worldwide.

The hospital reported that the child’s condition remains critical while sedated and ventilated.

“The medical team continues to provide him with optimal care, and we’re all praying for his recovery,” a Ziv Medical Center spokesperson says.